Authorities are yet to formally name the 15 people who died following the attack, which is now being investigated as a suspected terrorist incident.
A 42-year-old former US Army veteran named Shamsud Din Jabbar has been identified as the perpetrator, who was shot and killed by police officers on site.
Tiger Bech, Ni’kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, Reggie Hunter, Nicole Perez, Matthew Tenedorio, Kareem Badawi, and Hubert Gauthreaux have been named victims so far by family members.
Friends and families have since spoken of the loss of their loved ones and the legacies they leave behind. Tributes have poured in in memory of those lost.
President Joe Biden also said: “Our nation grieves with you. We’re going to stand with you as you mourn and as you heal in the weeks to come.”
Tiger Bech, 27
Princeton University Athletics
Among those first identified was Tiger Bech, a 28-year-old former college football star from Louisiana that had travelled to Bourbon Street to celebrate the New Year with friends.
Mr Bech played college football for Princeton between 2016 and 2018 and worked more recently as an investment trader in New York.
According to local reports, he was taken to hospital following the attack and was kept on life support until his family arrived.
Mr Bech’s brother, Jack Bech, confirmed the news on social media alongside a touching message. “Love you always brother!” he wrote. “You inspired me everyday, now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”
According to ABC News, Princeton’s football coach Bob Surace also described the former football star as “a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend.”
Another victim that has been identified by family members was Ms Dedeaux, 18, who had reportedly planned to become a nurse.
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux
Local reports reveal that the teenager had snuck out and travelled to New Orleans from Gulfport with cousins and friends to ring in the New Year on Bourbon Street.
A friend who was with Ms Dedeaux at the time of the incident told the Associated Press: “A truck hit the corner and comes barreling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air,”
“It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”
A third victim that’s been identified was 27-year-old Nicole Perez, a mother to a four-year-old boy.
Nicole Perez, 27
Kimberly Usher-Fall
Ms Perez was out with friends on New Year’s Eve when she was struck by the truck and later rushed to hospital where she died.
Kimberly Usher-Fall, a family friend and employer, confirmed the news, adding that Ms Perez was a “great mother.”
A GoFundMe page set up for Ms Perez reads: “She was so beautiful and full of life. Her son Melo is now without his momma, and we are without our friend and dedicated employee. I’m hoping to get some help for her burial expenses and to help her son with expenses he will need to transition into a new living situation.”
Reggie Hunter
37-year-old father of two Reggie Hunter from Baton Rouge was also among the 15 people killed. according to his family.
He had just left work and headed to celebrate New Year’s with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.
Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.
